The Irony of Natural Living

Green, natural and holistic living are things that are very important to my family. These mean different things for different people, but for us, it means, among other things, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, alternative medicine, pesticide free and organic eating, and chemical free cleaning, toys, and personal care.

Since "natural living" is now a trend, there seems to be no shortage of "green," "holistic," and "natural" foods and products on the market. That's no surprise--our consumerist society ensures that if there is a demand, manufacturers will supply. What is startling is just how much it can cost to "live naturally;" which seems counter intuitive, since one of the general ideas of living naturally is to use less; and one would think that natural products, whether they be toys, cosmetics, or cleaning products, since they are more straightforward in their contents, would be cheaper. Right? Wrong.

Before I begin, let me say that I'm in no way criticizing anyone who buys these products. After all, I've bought or buy many of them myself. I'm not denying that many of these things enhance my life or make certain aspects more entertaining and enjoyable, but if I'm looking at need vs. want, and I'm being really honest with myself, the vast majority fall into the want category.

This is a commentary on the consumerist trap that we seem to fall into despite our best efforts. Sometimes it feels like we're being brainwashed to think that we absolutely need all these different products as if our survival or happiness depends on it. Buy what you will, but do it because you want to, not because someone out there has convinced you that you cannot do without it.  It's also a commentary on the obscene mark ups on natural products and organic food. 

Speaking of food, it seems incredibly unfair that the organic stuff costs so much more than its conventional counterpart, almost every time. Just last week, I purchased organic frozen peas for $2.99 (10 oz box). That's a whole dollar more than the regular frozen peas. I paid $4.50 for one, one, organic red bell pepper.

I read a factual, sobering article on GMOs this past week, and it couldn't have come at a worse time for me. The new year has brought with it a need and a desire for our household to budget--and unfortunately that includes buying less organic food, because it's simply not feasible 100% of the time for our large family. We polish off things like grapes, apples, and berries at record speed around here. The unfair pricing of organic food seems even more unfair to me now, since eating organic is the number one way to reduce your consumption of GMOs.

As for personal care, a bottle of Burt's Bees Baby Wash will set me back $9.99 (and believe me, I know that Burt's Bees is not even the most natural wash out there). If I wanted to go really natural, California Baby would cost me a whopping $19.99 (for less ounces than the Burt's Bees).

When it comes to natural cleaners, I've found that the more natural they claim to be, the more they cost. I have a few favorite brands, but oftentimes my budget doesn't allow me the luxury of buying them. I ran out of dish washing liquid and I got one the natural brands at my local grocery store that cost me a ridiculous (overpriced) $4.99. That 99 cent container of bright orange Joy looks really appealing in those moments. Laundry detergent is also pricey, and with a family of five, those costs can really add up.

So what's a natural living gal to do? Well, a few things. First, I've limited my organic food purchases to the Dirty Dozen (for the most part, unless there is a really good sale on something organic that isn't on the list). This makes me incredibly sad, but it's the only way we can continue to eat healthily and not dip into our kids' college funds to pay our grocery bill (I jest. Mostly.).

I've also started shopping in bulk. I apologize, Mother Earth, but as there are four people using our commode (and will be five in a couple years' time), I simply cannot justify spending more than a dollar on a *single* roll of recycled toilet paper (which, I might add, is not the softest stuff around. No fluffy bouncing little bear on that packaging). I bought a huge bag of toilet paper from Costco that worked out to something like 30 cents a roll. Also at Costco are organic apples, organic carrots, and organic whole chickens. Who knew? They also have their own brand of organic pantry and canned items (a 9 pack of organic chopped tomato cans for around $6!!).

I make as much of what we use as I can from scratch, from food to cleaners. As I talked about here, DIY cleaning products are dirt cheap and so easy to make. There are certain things, like dish washing liquid and laundry detergent, that I won't make on my own because I find that they don't clean as well as the manufactured stuff, but maybe it's just a matter of finding the right formula. I will keep looking! Making most of my own every day cleaners allows me to have the budget to splurge on the good stuff for my dishes and clothes (imagine--being able to use products not loaded with carcinogens is a "splurge!" Oh, the irony...). The Naturally Clean Home is a great book with 150 recipes for green cleaning.

As a family, we are consuming less. Not food, but everything else. We were once again blessed to have a happy, healthy, and bountiful holiday season. We all gave and received lovely gifts. And now, that's done. We've limited material purchases to must-have only (with an occasional blip here and there, we are human, after all!), and instead are focusing on things we can do. We've also made a commitment to purchasing and consuming less for subsequent holidays and birthdays. For me, having a budget has actually allowed me to become more creative and I'm rather enjoying coming up with ways to have a great time while being thriftier.

I didn't touch on toys above, but I adore cloth and wooden toys for my children. I do not adore their prices. It is an exercise in restraint and self control to go for the one nice toxin-free wooden toy than the five lead-laden made-in-China-ones. I took out my middle daughter's beautiful wooden toys from storage (which my youngest daughter is now using), and felt a great sense of satisfaction that though they are few, they are lovely and useful. I'm not against plastic toys and will certainly purchase them at some point. But I'm going for quality vs. quantity. 

Finally, I shop at discount retailers online. As much as I love going local and do so whenever I can, the online retailers really have the advantage on this one. Sites like Vitacost and Oompa Toys are instrumental in my being able to continue providing my family with products that aren't filled with chemicals and toxins.

These are a few of the things that have made a difference for my family. How do you live the natural life on a budget?

Simple Healthy Changes

In May I posted about using moving into a new house as motivation to get a bit more environmentally friendly. Today I would like to share a few super simple changes we've made in the last few months toward this goal.

Cleaning. I have discovered the joys of green cleaning! We use vinegar to clean the toilets, a vinegar and water mix as an all-purpose and glass cleaner, baking soda and lemon juice for tough stains, and olive oil and lemon juice to polish the furniture. It is all so easy . . . I am totally kicking myself for not doing this sooner. (We do still use commercial brands of laundry and dish detergent.) 

Food. We've made several changes in this area. (Take a peek at what's in our grocery cart.) First, I gave up my addiction to artificial coffee creamers and started putting honey and whole milk in my coffee. (It is delicious, by the way!) We started buying Greek yogurt and organic yogurt made with real sugar (instead of the corn syrup sweetened varieties). Recently we made the switch to brown rice and whole wheat pasta. (My oldest even told me, "hey, I like this new brown pasta.") We also began purchasing a brand of milk from a local dairy; supporting a nearby farm and only a few cents more per gallon. We stopped buying a favorite snack because there are food dyes in it. We've stopped eating lunch meats. We now buy only real butter. (Note: I tend to be wary of any diet plan that suggests eliminating an entire food group because it is evil. Please don't comment that I really need to switch to eating only dairy-free, gluten-free kelp cakes.)

Personal Care. The kids and I previously switched over to a toothpaste without dyes or artificial colors or flavorings. Other than that we haven't done much in this area. Still not interested in going no poo, and my beauty regimen is pretty much nonexistent, so not a lot going on there. We've have, however, been making an effort to not buy personal care products unless we really need them. As one small example, we actually use all those trial size shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and lotions we accumulate during our travels before we automatically just buy buy buy new without thinking about it. 

What (if any) little changes are you making these days? 

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day.

About the author: Valerie is a Navy wife and homeschooling Momma to three young children.
She blogs at http://mommainprogress.blogspot.com.

Moving As Motivation To Go Green

We're going to be moving into a new home in a few weeks. I plan to use this transition as an opportunity for increasing my crunchiness, so to speak, and getting just a little bit greener.

We take small steps now. We reduce, reuse, and recycle. We use cloth diapers and wipes most of the time. We're careful about our water use and combine car trips/errands whenever possible. (And not just because I hate driving.) However, I know we can do better. My hope is that setting up a new home will motivate me to encourage simple, everyday changes with our housekeeping, eating, and self-care.

What I really want is for my children to see that this is just how we do things. I want taking care of the earth, eating healthy, and using earth-friendly products to be a natural part of their lives, not an abstract concept. My plan is to concentrate on just three areas and continue to make steady progress while involving my children in my thought process as much as possible. Following are a few minor changes I'm looking forward to trying.

Cleaning. My goal is no chemical cleaners. At all. I'm going to try some of the cleaning suggestions here (an article posted in Whole Living, a wealth of great information). This one has another motive as well: my six-year-old recently became fascinated with helping me around the house. I certainly would not hand her a commercial cleaner to use on her own, but I would totally ask her to polish the furniture with olive oil or scrub the sink with a lemon. Learning home economics and helping Momma. Score! I've also considered making my own laundry detergent, but with the amount we go through around here, I'm not sure I want to take that on. (But if anyone has suggestions, I'm open to them.)

Food. Imagine a brand new kitchen with not one crumb of food. Where do you start? What do you bring in? A while back I had this brilliant idea to eliminate food dyes as a first step in our food overhaul plan. I even found this fabulous site and went all crazy looking for "numbers" in everything we bought. Unfortunately we never really got any further than that. My new goal is to buy more produce locally. We go through a lot of fruit and veggies around here, so I figured this would be a good next step. (I've even found a farmers market that will deliver a basket of seasonal produce every week to my door, which sounds tempting. Hmm.)

Personal Care. While the idea of cleaning my kitchen with baking soda and a lemon seems totally do-able, when it comes to products I use on myself, eh . . . I'm iffy on whether or not I'm willing to craft, say, my own toothpaste. I also have no interest in going no poo, although I try to use as little as possible and I don't lather up every day. (But I did find this great post about going shampoo-free and must admit I find it slightly intriguing.) I am a bit giddy, however, about the opportunity to try out some more natural (albeit commercially available) products. I recently became a fan of Toms of Maine, and I'm especially thrilled that they have a children's toothpaste that does not contain the aforementioned nasty dyes. 

Like I said, baby steps. I know I'm not going to wake up one day and transform into the model green living example. But, we have to start somewhere and I'm hoping to capitalize on the novelty of a new home in a new area to inspire me.

What small steps have you taken to help your family get greener?

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day.

Cleaning Green

A couple of years ago, I picked up Renée Loux’s Easy Green Living and read it cover to cover. It’s an informative and inspiring book, filled with ways to live healthier while helping the earth. One of my favorite sections talks about making your own household cleaners. I decided to give it a try and have been hooked ever since. I haven’t bought a commercial cleaner in more than a year! Though I was already using non-toxic name-brand cleaners, I’ve found making my own rewarding, cheaper, and ultimately easier than I thought it would be.

Why switch to non-toxic cleaners in the first place?

Have you ever looked at the ingredients in a spray bottle of a conventional all-purpose cleaner? The list is scary—and dangerous for both human beings and the environment. Common ingredients can include (all sources for this information are cited in Renée’s book):

Ammonia, a toxic substance that can cause permanent damage to the eyes and can burn the skin.

Chlorine, which severely irritates the eyes, skin, and lungs, and is very harmful to inhale. It may cause permanent damage to the lungs, and children are especially at risk for its adverse effects.

Glycol ether, repeated exposure to which can cause liver and kidney damage.

Naptha, found in all purpose glass and surface cleaners, is a possible carcinogen and can cause skin damage, and is very dangerous to inhale.

Phenols, toxic compounds that irritate the eyes, skin, and lungs, and are toxic in the environment.

Terrifying, right? And that’s not even half of the most common ingredients. In the US, manufacturers are not required to list the ingredients in their cleaning products—so we may not even know all the toxic chemicals that we’re using. It’s bad enough to think of the harm this might be causing myself and my husband—but when I started thinking about the possible danger I’m exposing my kids to, for me, switching to non-toxic cleaners was a no-brainer.

Why make your own cleaners?

I look at making my own cleaners the way I look at making most of what we eat from scratch: I know every single thing that has gone into whatever it is we are ingesting, or cleaning with, in this case. No unpronounceable chemicals; no carcinogens or agents harmful to the earth. Before I switched to non-toxic cleaning products, I was always nervous about my kids being around when I cleaned—now I have no fear of them inhaling or swallowing something that can cause them permanent damage.

Making your own cleaners is exponentially less expensive than buying name brand non-toxic ones. There are some wonderful name brand natural cleaners out there, and they do the job well.  But they are pricey, and if you’re a neat freak like me and clean often, those costs can really add up. I order all my ingredients from Vitacost.com. Their prices are up to 40% less than other sites I have come across, and some things are as much as 75% less expensive! You can also visit your local natural health store for most of these. I get spray bottles from my local dollar store. You can even use old spray bottles from store-bought cleaners that have run out—just be sure to wash them out thoroughly before mixing your cleaner in them.

Making your own cleaners is also fun! I absolutely love learning about essential oils and their properties, and combining them to create my own scents gives me a chance to get creative. Be sure to keep your oils out of reach of children—ingesting them in large amounts can be harmful. Another note—if you are using a plastic measuring spoon for your essential oils, wash it out with soap immediately after you finish with it, otherwise the oil will corrode the plastic.

Now that you have some good information, why not give making your own household cleaners a try? Here are some of my favorite recipes, taken from Easy Green Living. I’d love to hear from you if you try these, and how you like them.

Lavender-Lemon Disinfecting Spray

Hands down, my favorite. Smells fantastic and I love that it naturally disinfects! You can use this to clean things like kitchen counters and cutting boards—just keep in mind that it won’t necessarily kill all bacteria from raw poultry and meat. Makes about one pint.

¼ cup inexpensive vodka

½ cup 3% hydrogen peroxide (69 cents a bottle at my local drugstore!)

1 cup water

10 drops essential oil of lavender

5 drops essential oil of lemon

Combine all the ingredients in a spray bottle and swirl to mix them. Be sure not to shake the bottle, or the active oxygen in the peroxide will go flat and lose its action. Spray the surface and wipe, or allow to air dry. Keeps indefinitely!

All-Purpose Citrus Spray

I love this recipe because it uses another inexpensive ingredient: white distilled vinegar. I buy the store brand and the cost ends up being pennies per bottle for this cleaner. One note—if the smell of vinegar bothers you, you may want to skip this one, as the scent does linger for a bit. You may be tempted to add more essential oils to mask the smell—but don’t. When it comes to essential oils, a little goes a long way! Makes about one pint.

½ cup white distilled vinegar

1 tablespoon Citra-Solv Cleaner and Degreaser Concentrate (available at Vitacost.com or your local natural health store)

½ teaspoon natural liquid dish soap or castile soap

1 ½ cups warm water

½ teaspoon total antiseptic essential oils (your choice as to which ones—get creative!)

Combine all the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well to mix. Keeps indefinitely!

All-Purpose Deodorizing Basic Soda Spray

This is a great recipe for scouring and scrubbing—and it uses two super-inexpensive ingredients—baking and club soda! Be sure to wipe off after spraying, because the baking soda can leave a residue. Makes about one pint.

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ castile soap

½ teaspoon total rosemary and sweet orange essential oils

1 cup very warm water

1 cup club soda

Combine the baking soda, soap, essential oils, and water in a spray bottle. Screw the top on, shake vigorously to combine the ingredients, and then add the club soda. Swirl to mix it in.

Heavy-Duty Floor Cleaner

I don’t know why, but it seems like commercial floor cleaners are the most expensive of the lot. This is easy, cheap, and smells wonderful! My kids and husband have all commented on how good the house smells after I’ve mopped with this.

2 gallons warm water

½ cup distilled white vinegar

¼ cup Citra-Solv Cleaner and Degreaser Concentrate

2 tablespoons natural liquid dish soap

½ teaspoon essential oil of lavender

Mix all ingredients in a bucket, and mop away!

Basic Soda Fizz Toilet Scrub

OK, the toilet situation can get yucky, and you may be temped to use a conventional toxic cleaner because it just makes the grime go away. Don’t do it! This recipe is easy, quick, and cleans just as well.

1 tablespoon castile or other natural liquid soap

1/3 cup baking soda

1/3 distilled white vinegar

8 drops essential oil of lavender, rosemary, or both

Squirt the soap into the toilet bowl, and then drop the baking soda on top. Pour in the vinegar and essential oils. Let it fizz for 2-3 minutes, then scrub the bowl with a toilet brush, and flush. Enjoy the sparkle!

***

Good luck and happy green cleaning!

Agoo Apparel Leggings Review and Giveaway!

Agoo leggings come in lots of adorable and vibrant patterns!

My obsession with baby leggings started the summer of 2008 in the midst of a three day music festival in the Canadian Rockies. My friend and I had hitched a ride into town from the festival grounds for breakfast. Standing in line at the coffee shop we`d chosen was an incredibly attractive granola-looking dad holding THE most adorable baby I had ever seen. The baby was wearing a Flaming Lips onsie and a bright blue pair of leggings to match. My head just about exploded of cute.

This was more than a year before my son, Oliver, was born, and to be completely honest, my husband and I were still `just friends`, so to say that Oliver hadn`t even been thought of at that point is an understatement. But even though he hadn`t been thought of I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when I had babies they would wear leggings all day, every day, all the time, no matter the season. Flash forward to September 2009, Oliver was born and I kept my promise to myself, he wears leggings and my gosh is he ever darling!


So when Agoo Apparel sent me their new leggings to review, I knew I would love them! The question wouldn`t be whether or not I would recommend leggings to other parents, it would be about what set Agoo leggings apart from other brands.

Oh wow! They`re bamboo!

The thing that caught my eye and most definitely sets these leggings apart, is that they are made from bamboo! Bamboo has so many natural qualities that make it perfect for this type of garment.

• It`s antibacterial 
• It sheds moisture
• It`s breathable
• It`s odor resistant

These natural qualities make bamboo leggings perfect for parents who practice Elimination Communication. These leggings won`t pick up bacteria from the potty seat, will stand up to a small miss or splash-back, and keep your child`s legs comfortable during diaper free time! Bamboo fibers are also much softer than traditional cotton, I could feel the difference immediately and unlike our other cotton leggings, these did not leave any marks around my son`s thighs.

The lack of irritation from the bands of the leggings could also be because Agoo leggings seem to be made to fit a larger age range then other brands. Our other leggings still fit Oliver, but he is quite tall and the gap of thigh poking out the top of the leggings is definitely getting bigger. Agoo leggings are longer then the other brands we own, and the bands that keep them secure around the ankles and thighs seem to be quite a bit more flexible. I have no doubt that they will still fit securely on the tiny legs of an infant, but they will also fit comfortably all the way into toddler and childhood!

Cute, comfortable & durable, they`re made for play!

I also noticed that they didn`t pill as badly in the wash as other leggings. I live in an apartment building where the washing facilities leave much to be desired. Washing things on delicate in these machines just isn`t really an option if you want to get them clean within your allotted time limit, so imagine my delight when these beautiful leggings came out of the wash looking every bit as vibrant and new as they looked going in! They held their shape, their colour, and didn`t shrink a bit, which makes me confident that they will survive Oliver`s toddler years and maybe even get passed down to his younger siblings when we have them.

If you`re not convinced that bamboo fibers are enough to make such a big difference in a pair of leggings, also note that bamboo fiber is an environmentally sustainable choice! The cultivation of bamboo requires little irrigation and no pesticides, and it grows at such a rapid rate in a variety of climates that it is readily available to growing demand. Products made from bamboo are biodegradable and non-toxic!

To top all that off, these leggings are just plain cute! They`re adorable! They come in so many colours and patterns that I have no doubt there is a pair to match every occasion, and every child! So you`ll probably want a pair for your little one.

That`s why Agoo Apparel is giving away a pair of these to one of our Connected Mom readers! AND after you enter to win your own pair, you can go to The Connected Mom Facebook page, or see the Agoo Apparel advertisement on the right hand side of this page to find a 70% off discount code!

1) Mandatory entry: Click on over to the Agoo Apparel website browse through their leggings and then leave a comment under this post telling us which leggings you love the most!

2) There are 3 bonus entries! Remember to leave a separate comment under this post for each of the following entries:

• *Like* The Connected Mom on Facebook! 
• Follow @theconnectedmom and @KidsActivewear on twitter and tweet: I entered to win adorable Agoo Leggings from @theconnectedmom & @KidsActivewear! http://bit.ly/e6ZZrp
• Subscribe to The Connected Mom blog with Google friend connect!

3) The winner will be drawn at random two weeks from today on Thursday April 8th! The winner will be posted here and contacted via email, so remember to include your email address on the comment form! If we do not hear back from our winner within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen by another random draw. 

Agoo Apparel sent me a free sample for review, I recieved no other compensasion for this post and all views expressed are my own.

Lysol In The Laundry

It has recently come to my attention that many of my apartment building's residents have been using disinfecting cleaners (specifically Lysol) inside the washing and drying machines of our laundry facilities. I was more than a little upset when I found this out, I want to limit my child's exposure to the harsh chemicals in disinfectants, finding out that these chemicals have potentially been in direct contact with my family's skin for the last 2 years is upsetting and more than a little scary for me.

 

For the record, I am SO NOT the kind of person who normally freaks out about this kind of thing. I am no helicopter parent bent on micromanaging absolutely every person and environment my child comes in contact with. I realize that there are any number of potentially harmful chemicals being used regularly in public spaces that I cannot control. This is why I do my best to make safe choices inside our home so that my family's over-all exposure to potentially dangerous chemicals is reduced if not eliminated. By focusing on the things I CAN control, I find it liberatingly easy to relax about the things that I can't. But there is just something about commercial disinfectants that give me the creeps, and finding out that my son has been in direct contact with disinfectant cleaners 24/7 for his entire life outside of my womb is more than a little disconcerting. 

I think this article from Healthy Child Healthy World pretty much sums up why I feel this way about disinfectant cleaners, and a twitter friend wrapped it all up rather well when she coined the phrase: "germs are good for you, cancer is not!" (Please somebody make me this T-shirt!)

So now comes the big deep breath after my fit of boarder line hysterics about the Lysol in the Laundry room incident of 2011. What do I do about it?

On the one hand, there are any number of terrifying toxins in this apartment building. From building materials and older plumbing to the air fresheners and cleaning products used in the hallways, I hold no delusions that this building is otherwise toxin free. Even if the laundry room were free of disinfectant there would still be residues left behind from other people's detergents and fabric softeners. Can I really reasonably expect a toxin free environment when I live in such close proximity to, and share facilities with, my neighbours? I don't expect everyone to make the same choices that I would, even if it would be better for the health of the entire planet.

On the other hand I am an idealist. I genuinely believe that people can and will treat others with kindness and respect as best they know how a vast majority of the time. Could it be that my neighbours are simply unaware that the disinfectants they are using are likely to cause them, and me and my family, more harm than the remote possibility of picking up a harmful microbe from the washing facilities? This Idealistic part of me has already drafted a very polite and educational letter on the subject and plans to slip one under the doors of every tenant in the building. 

Being aware of the toxins our families come into contact with is important, but when you tend to flirt with the label 'control freak' as much as I do, being aware can often send you over the edge. 

Sometimes jumping over that edge can be good for you though. In my case it has made me determined. I can't control what products other people choose to use, even if those products will inevitably end up in contact with my family. It sucks, but it's true.

What I can do is get active in my community. I can educate other parents, friends, family and neighbours about how the product choices we make effect our health, our community's health, and the health of our planet. (click here to find out how you can host a Healthy child party for all your friends) 

I can ask my government representatives what they are doing to restrict and legislate the sale and use of toxic chemicals thereby making it harder for those chemicals to make it to my family. I can urge them to create stricter labeling laws to prevent companies from selling toxins under false labels like 'natural', 'green', 'nontoxic', and other buzz words, and require they clearly list ingredients in everything from cleaning to beauty products. 

If I don't like their answers I can vote, volunteer, and campaign for representatives who will do more to protect my family from pollutants. 

I can find out what organizations in my community are doing to reduce the amount of toxins in my environment and support them in doing so by donating either my time, money, or both. (This is one of my favourites)

I can continue to find new ways to make my own home a healthier environment for my family, to reduce our over-all exposure to toxins. For instance, this week I will be purging the last of my make-up and beauty products. (Did you know that: "The government does not require health studies or pre-market testing for [beauty] products before they are sold." - Skin Deep)

Maybe none of these things will stop my neighbors from leaving a film of pesticides inside the clothes dryer because they're afraid of germs in a washing facility, but maybe it will prevent my children's future neighbors from dumping toxins into their environment. 

What other things can I do to stem the flow of toxins into our environment? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments section!

Raising Children Who Love The Earth

I worry about my son's future. 

I don't tend to be a big worrier. I have only so much mind to use from minute to minute and for the most part I can find infinitely better things to do with it then worry. The comment I hear most from others about myself as a parent is that I am 'so relaxed', and whether it's meant as a compliment or not I tend to take it as one. 

But never the less I worry about my son's future, and I am sure I am not alone in this. The fact is that every time I see a TV commercial for Kleenex brand disposable hand towels, or a news story like the continuing effect of the gulf oil spill, and every time I throw out my food waste because we haven't yet figured out a good way to compost from our apartment, I am overcome with a sense of fear and hopelessness about the future of this planet. A future that belongs to my son, and to your children as well. 

When I think about the continued UNsustainability of the world and culture that we live in, I start to worry.

I can hope to teach my child earth friendly habits like energy conservation, repairing, reusing and recycling, and eating whole foods found locally whenever possible, or any of the hundreds of other small ways my family chooses to lessen our effect on the environment.

But how do I fight back against the 'more, more, more, 'instant, convenient, disposable' mentality of the culture that we live in as it finds newer and more creative ways to push its way into my child's mind? How do I raise a child who has love and compassion for the earth and the good sense to know the difference between sustainable solutions and a marketing ploy? More importantly, how do I raise a child who, given the choice between easy and right, will do the right thing for himself, his community, and the world around him?

I want to try and model all of these things to my child as he grows. I am not sure exactly how, but I believe teaching is a process which is born from relationships of trust and respect. There will be many lessons taught between us, him to me and me to him. But I want to also create an environment where these lessons come naturally, where questions that lead to discussions which lead to learning and problem solving can happen organically. How do I do that in a culture so far removed from the natural world?

The obvious answer to these questions is to spend time out doors. Almost everyone I've talked to about these worries of mine is confident that a few hours a week at the neighborhood park and some precious memories of camping or sailing or hiking or fishing will be enough to raise children who are passionate about nature and protecting it.  

I am not convinced that that is all there is to it.  Lots of people spent time outside as children but don't 'have time' to recycle, don't care where their food is coming from so long as it's convenient, who buy SUVs only to drive them alone and in city for their daily commute.  For every advocate who credits childhood camping trips with their love for nature, there is an oil loving climate change denier with the same experiences and none of the compassion. 

It is true that our children are spending far less time enjoying the great outdoors then many of us did as children, and far more time plugged into various devices. I am certainly not denying the importance of getting them out there, it's a huge part of the equation, but it's not the final answer. 

So what is? How do we encourage our children to love and respect nature AND have the passion to protect it?

My kid doesn't have to grow up to be a revolutionary. I mean, that would be really rad if that's what he wanted, but my aim isn't to groom one necessarily. I just want to raise a connected person who is mindful of his place in the world and how his actions effect the world around him. I want to raise a curious person, who questions what he sees and what cannot be seen and approaches global issues with compassion. 

I am just not sure HOW to do that!

 

 

Go Green without Going Broke: GoGreen Pocket Diapers (Giveaway)

Want to win one?  Enter below by Dec. 16th at 11:59 CST.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me something interesting you learned about Go Green Pocket Diapers



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Put your money where your mouth is

Photo credit: Danielle Moler (Flickr)

My family and I do not buy Nestle products.  This means we no longer lay a finger on Butterfinger and our kids are opting out of membership in the Gerber generation.  It's not always easy with such a huge product list to boycott, but we feel that it is a decision we must make.  Our boycott of Nestle stems primarily from being part of the lactivist community, but this is a cause that should be promoted by breastfeeding and formula feeding families, and well, everyone else with a conscience. 

Pants that fit just right: Boodle Bottoms Review and Giveaway

It's a common issue for cloth diapering moms - finding pants that fit over bulky cloth diapers.  If you are like me, dressing your child often includes a bit of a shimmy shake to get the pants up over the fluff.  So when I stumbled upon Boodle Bottoms I had to try them.  Boodle Bottoms are pants designed to fit over cloth diapers!

Green Washing

“Non-toxic! Safe for children! Environmentally friendly!” my carpet spot remover says along side a list of other benefits like ‘not tested on animals!’ and ‘safe around pets’. But a quick read through the ATSDR fact sheetsummary of the active ingredient 2-butoxyethanol confirms that while it does evaporate quickly, it doesn’t look like any long term studies have been done to find out what environmental effects it was once in our air and that exposure to this chemical in animals has been shown to cause hemolysis, reproductive problems and birth defects, as well as respiratory illness in humans when exposed to large amounts.

Green your HALLOWEEN!

Photo credit: Mrs. Hart (Flickr)

It's almost here - my favorite holiday!  I love it not because of the candy, but because I get to make costumes.  I love to dress up and I especially love to get creative and make something fun for Halloween.  But lately Halloween has become another cause for concern for moms.  The number of Nestle products, candy containing high fructose corn syrup, and lack of fun, healthy alternatives is frustrating.

In the spirit of transparency, my son will be eating candy on Halloween and I will be, too.  However, I appreciate that not all families do eat candy, and many moms feel required to turn off the porch light rather than hand out apples to kids.  Not to mention that apples are expensive and homemade is out.  A lot of other green Halloween guides suggest pencils or small toys or crayons, but as a reader pointed out the other day many of the cheap toys contain parabens and plastics she doesn't want to hand out either.  What's a holistic mom to do?

Have a greener period: LadyCup and Pleat Review and Giveaway!

Winner: Heather! 

In July 2009 I decided I was making the switch to sustainable menstrual products.  It seemed a bit hypocritical of me to promote cloth diapering while I tossed pads and tampons out each month.  I recall thinking before my revelation that mama cloth was just gross and it would be such a pain and what if it didn't work?  And then I realized all those arguments were the same ones being used against cloth diapers.  Well after this brilliant revelation, I got busy and made some cloth liners.  The tutorial is floating around on this blog, but since it embarrassingly poor, please skip it!  So I whipped them up eager to start my own cloth stash, and wouldn't you know it but this happened:

5 Easy Steps To A Healthier More Sustainable Diet For Your Family

All rights reserved by dwinning

We all want to give our families the best, and making changes to our lives now to positively effect the future of the planet is in ours and our children’s best interest. But at the frantic pace that family life seams to move in this day and age it’s not always easy to do so.

There has been a lot of hype recently about eating locally, and cutting down on the processed goods in our diets. Both of these trends can have major positive effects on your family’s health, and the carbon footprint you generate.

This came as a jarring realization to me personally. The journey my food took to my plate never registered with me past my involvement from grocery shelf to refrigerator. But from the resources needed to ship ingredients, to the chemicals and practices used to process and package convenience foods, the decisions we make about our diets have huge impact on the world around us.

I have since found that eating a local whole food diet can be really rewarding, and experiencing what your local economy has to offer from season to season is exciting. But it can also be rather daunting.

In many parts of North America, my own included, there are long seasons where nothing grows, followed by short bursts of productivity and only one big harvest per year, so having fresh local ingredients through the winter means a lot of planning, preserves and a large freezer.

In many places the way agricultural systems are set up makes it less profitable for farmers to sell their produce locally. For me in Canada, this often means that the ‘fresh’ produce, like corn for example, at my local super market was grown in the United States even when the local corn crops are in harvest, which results in having to make several trips to different locations to obtain all of the local goods I need.

The same systems that effect who farmers sell their produce to can also drastically affect the variety of produce in a hundred mile radius; If your local farmers rely heavily on profits made from say, soy beans it stands to reason that diversity will be set aside for the sake of profits, so locally grown ingredients other than soy beans may be more elusive.

Many people who wish to eat a more sustainable local diet have great success growing their own ingredients in their gardens. This is an awesome resource if you have it, but with more and more people living in urban environments and policy trends towards privatization resulting in the loss of public land including community gardens, this is not always an option for people interested in eating their way to a smaller carbon footprint.

So how can you and your family eat a more local and whole food diet despite the obstacles? I have 5 suggestions:

1. Talk about it!

In my case this step was a series of discussions, mostly in the super market, with my husband. Oliver isn’t yet old enough to give us his impute past ‘mmmm’ or ‘ick’, but if your children are older it is important to involve them in the decision to change your family’s diet.

Talk to them, in an age appropriate way, about the importance of choosing foods that are good for their own health and the health of the planet. It will be much easier to make changes when the whole family is on board, and many children will be more open to change when they are prepared and involved.

Even if a switch to locally grown goods wouldn’t mean a big change in the kinds of foods your family eats (you’d be surprised what you can find locally with a little bit of detective work), it is still really important that we talk to our children about the effects that our choices have on the environment.

2. Set a standing dinner date

Schedule a little adventure and pick one night every week to try new things. In our house we aim for Wednesdays. Every Wednesday we explore our local farmer’s market and find something fresh and local to eat for dinner. On those days we aim to have everything on our table come from the province that we live in, though occasionally small additions from within Canada are made. (As Oliver grows we plan to involve him by allowing him to choose new ingredient from the market.)

Committing to just one day a week is a really easy way to get the ball rolling, as you start to explore new ingredients and recipes the feedback you get from your family, and your own taste buds will guide you. When you find a dish that the whole family likes, add it to your regular menu and all of the sudden you’re eating a local whole food diet twice a week!

Just one meal a week WILL make a difference! According to World Watch the ingredients in the average American meal typically travel between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometers to your plate. According to the American Census, in 2003 the average American commute to work was about 25 kilometers one way. Eating local whole foods for just one meal would save as much fuel as walking or biking to and from work every day for about 50-80 days!

3. Make it fun

When I was talking about our local food nights with a friend of mine the other day she seemed amused. “That may work now, but good luck getting Oliver to eat any of it in a year or two” I understand where she’s coming from, I’ve personally tried feeding her child, he’s a pretty particular little guy, and when I cooked for my family as a teenager I remember the upturned nose of my baby sister and the frustration that resulted very clearly. (She’s now 16 and still turns up her nose at my cooking, some kids are just stubborn)

But one way I plan to capture Oliver’s interest in whole and local foods is to involve him in the process. By letting him choose or grow his own ingredients and help with the preparation, I hope that he will have a sense of pride and ownership over his meals.

I also think it’s very important not to make food a battle ground. Food is for nutrients yes, but it is also pleasurable. Food should be fun, and part of keeping meal time fun and light is remembering that some people just don’t like certain foods. There is nothing wrong with that, and it is important to understand and respect this fact. Eventually, in their own time, they may even come around about foods they claim to hate. (For example: I only started eating asparagus a year ago, I was convinced it was gross and now it’s one of my favorites)

Have a particularly picky food critic? Let him be a critic! Give him a crayon or pencil and have him write or draw what he did and didn’t like about the meal, get him to score it like a food network judge, and make suggestions about what could have made the meal better.

What if he thinks that your roasted chicken would have been better with rainbow sprinkles? Then serve it up with a small shaker of rainbow sprinkles on the side next time. (If you can find locally made sprinkles that’s great, but I am sure you could make an exception for a pinch of rainbow sugar) He’ll quickly realize that those two flavours don’t really go together, or maybe he’ll think it’s delicious, there’s nothing wrong with letting kids explore with taste and texture. Food is FUN!

4. Make it easy

Let’s face it, there’s a reason many of us keep reaching for the convenience foods even when we know the harm they cause to ourselves, our family, and the planet. It’s because they’re convenient! (Crazy I know, how could I have guessed?)

At the same time that I try to make health and planet conscious decisions when putting food on my table, I am not ashamed to admit that there’s a box of Itchy Ban Noodles sitting in my pantry waiting for a busy day when neither my husband nor I feel like cooking.

One way that I’ve found to resist the appeal of those types of convenience foods is to make my local ingredients into more convenient options. If every dish you make on local whole food night takes 5 hours of slicing, dicing, cooking and seasoning then there’s no way that healthy choices will compete with processed convenience food after a long day. I have two ways in which I try to make local whole foods more convenient.

First, I find that making double batches of our favorite local/whole food recipes and freezing individual portions is like having the best ever TV dinner at your finger tips. Thawing out a container of hardy chili or soup is just as easy, if not more so, than boiling up a pot of starchy noodle goodness.

Second, I avoid recipes with more than 3-4 steps unless it’s a special occasion. Most foods are tastiest and healthiest in their natural state. The more saucing, steaming, or combining you do the more nutrients you loose in the process and the natural flavours of your ingredients start to fade away. While my family never shies away from the spice cupboard, I try to remember as often as I can that the flavours nature intended are often just as delicious and satisfying as the most balanced curry or elaborate sauce.

5. Eat out!

As eating locally becomes more and more popular, I am finding that more and more restaurants in my area are featuring locally farmed and produced options on their menus. You may have to do some searching, but you might be able to find one or more of these establishments in your area too. If you do, support your local economy by making it your go to date night spot, or your family’s special occasion eatery for birthdays and achievements. There’s nothing better than eating great healthy locally grown food that you didn’t have to prepare yourself!

Even if you haven’t found a way to eat locally grown whole foods at home on a regular basis, treating yourself to local fair while you’re out is a great option when you think about the impact that just one local meal can make.

Do you know where your food comes from? Would you like to learn more about whole foods? Join me on The Connected Mom Community! I have started a thread under ‘Nutrition for the family’ called ‘Sustainable Nutrition’. Come talk about making healthy and sustainable food choices for your family!